Sunday, August 26, 2007

Do Prayer Warriors Vote Democratic?

At a campaign forum in early June Hillary Clinton expressed gratitude to the "prayer warriors" who, she said, got her though a difficult time. See, e.g., New York Times online (June 4, 2007).

I had not heard the phrase "prayer warriors" before Clinton used it. A bit of investigation shows that it is used in some religious circles.

Clinton's use of the phrase "prayer warriors" makes me uncomfortable. First, I did not have the impression that people who pray are engaged in war.

Second, Clinton's statement hinted (but did not expressly assert) that she has followers who seek to engage God in something akin to a military campaign on behalf of Clinton and against her unnamed enemy combatants. I wondered if she was hinting that God is on her side and against, say, Republican Presidential candidates.

Third, Clinton's use of the phrase seemed out of character. It is quite true that Republican Presidential candidates have hinted (on numerous occasions) that God is on their side. But I had the impression that Hillary Clinton (unlike her husband) opposed the use of religion in that fashion.

The debasement of both religion and Hillary Clinton.

P.S. I do not object to the use of prayer by political candidates. For example, I do not object if politicians pray for divine guidance -- even if they do so in public. But I am troubled by the notion of politicians urging followers to pray for the success of a particular impliedly war-like political campaign.

About Me

Student of the law of evidence, evidence, inference, and investigation. Sometimes writes books. Sometimes writes articles. Sometimes tinkers with computer programs to support the marshaling of evidence for legal activities such as trials and pretrial discovery and investigation. And sometimes takes photographs.